Situated amid the lush, green hills of Kasese, a region renowned for its unique attractions and stunning natural beauty, which range from the snowcapped peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains to its vibrant cultures, lies one of the leading primary schools in the district: Mirami Primary School.

This government supported institution, located in Karambi sub county near the Ugandan border, serves 1,560 students and is adjacent to Kamirongo village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, separated by a porous boundary.

Previously, 15 students from Congo would cross the border to attend school in Uganda. However, following the Ebola outbreak in Uganda, announced by officials from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, the school administration had no choice but to ask the parents of these children to have them stay with relatives and friends in Uganda until the borders reopen for cross-border movement.

“When we received news about the border closure, we were concerned for our students, especially those in candidate classes. Our immediate response was to contact our local partners, the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS), to educate us and our teachers on how to manage this disease,” explained the deputy head teacher, Eseza Muthengera, as she sat at her humble wooden chair at a table covered with a pink hand-stitched tablecloth with the words “thank you Jesus” stitched using green thread.

In quick succession, the following day, officials from the URCS, along with those from the Ministry of Health, visited the school. They provided guidance on the Ebola case definition and held a general assembly to educate the entire school about the disease.

The officials recommended setting up a handwashing facility at the entrance and ensuring all students washed their hands with soap before entering the school. Fortunately, they also provided contactless infrared thermometers to check students’ temperatures, isolating those with high readings until their temperatures normalized or alerting them.

Although initially lacking educational materials, the school improvised by creating Ebola related messages on placards, placing them in high traffic areas at school to raise awareness among the students.Subsequently, the school reached out to parents of the Congolese students, urging them to find relatives and friends in Uganda to host these students temporarily. All 15 students are now residing in Uganda.

The school also formed a health task force among the students. These students were tasked with educating their peers and ensuring the handwashing facilities are always supplied with water, a responsibility they have embraced wholeheartedly.

“I always advise my peers to wash their hands to prevent the deadly Ebola virus, and I make sure all the tanks are filled with water,” said Baraka Kule, a member of the school’s health task force.
The innovative efforts of the teachers and the hunger for knowledge sharing among the students at Mirami Primary School are commendable and demonstrate the determination of Ugandans to curb the spread of Ebola and work towards its eradication at all levels.